


I'm coming too

by Peacheatssmiley



Category: The Magnus Archives (Podcast)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Inspired by Hadestown, Isolation, M/M, Mutual Pining, Psychological Horror, Rescue, Touch-Starved
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-23
Updated: 2019-10-23
Packaged: 2020-12-29 00:10:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,235
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21145526
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Peacheatssmiley/pseuds/Peacheatssmiley
Summary: In the end, finding Martin is almost easy. The challenge lies in bringing him home, when the Lonely finds a way to keep them separate.Post-episode 158: PanopticonHeavily inspired by Wait for me from Hadestown





	I'm coming too

**Author's Note:**

> I can't figure out how to set this to multiple chapters, but this is actually chapter 1/2

In the end, finding Martin is almost easy.

Jon doesn’t have to wander those empty streets for long before he sees it. Surrounded by dull grey buildings, the light of that window practically calls to him. He hurries through the front door and up the stairs and finds a door ajar, a soft glow coming from inside a flat. 

Jon walks past a cluttered kitchen and a room with what looks like a hospital bed to reach the living room. His footsteps seem to echo impossibly loud.

Martin is sitting on the couch, curled up, staring down into the teacup he’s got clutched to his chest. The sight makes Jon’s heart swell with fond familiarity. Martin hasn't noticed him standing in the door yet.

“Martin,” Jon calls out. 

Martin stays still. So still, Jon starts fearing for his life. A few steps and he’s kneeling down right in front of him. This close, he can see Martin breathe. It's a small comfort, considering how he’s still paying no mind to Jon’s presence.

He calls out again. No reaction.

Tentatively, Jon reaches out for Martin. With how this encounter has been playing out thus far, he honestly expects for his hand to pass right through the other’s body. It would be fitting for the Lonely to separate them this way.

He does seem to make contact, though. Martin’s skin feels cool under his fingers, but he still doesn't respond to the touch, not even when Jon guides him to set his (lukewarm!) cup of tea down on a side table, or when he holds his hand and laces their fingers together. Martin sighs and looks boredly out into the room, right through where his eyes should land on Jon’s face. His hand is slack in Jon’s grip. It’s skin contact, but without a connection.

Something begins to break within the Archivist’s chest, in that spot where he’s carried his longing for who knows how long. 

“What happened to you?”, he asks, with feeling.

* * *

Martin talks. He talks about his despair after the Unknowing, and his efforts to keep the Archivist and his assistants safe. He talks about his plan to spy on Peter, how he’d so confidently tried to outsmart him, and how it ultimately had just been a choice between playing into Peter Lukas’ or Jonah Magnus’ hands. He tells it to the void, because he might as well get it off his chest. He feels the urge and there's not really a need to resist it.

It's a strange compulsion, but in the wake of his monologue he feels a little warmer.

The sensation is achingly familiar. Reminiscent of the dusty rooms of a lived in Archive and a feeling like being heard, like being known, like being believed.

It’s so antithetical to his current predicament that Martin can’t help but frown. There’s something he’s missing and his mind races to catch up to it.

* * *

With bated breath, Jon watches Martin’s face twist with rapid thought. He must realize, that he had just given an answer to a question he couldn't have heard.

_ Please. Please, Martin, you're smart. You know what this means. _

Finally Martin looks up. He still doesn't properly see Jon, but he seems to be expecting to see someone. There's a fragile, hopeful note to his voice.

“Jon?”

And just when Jon thinks he's finally gotten through to him, Martin vanishes. And something within Jon shatters.

* * *

Martin is frankly a little surprised to suddenly see Jon kneeling in front of him. But then Jon jumps to his feet. His hand slips out of Martin’s lax grip. Had he really been holding it? It's all a bit much to process at once.

Jon is here with him inside the Lonely, and now he’s turning around and around, frantically looking anywhere but at Martin, who is finally shaking off his surprise and following Jon up from the couch.

“Martin? Martin?!”, Jon yells, “Where are you? Damn you, Peter Lukas! Where did you take him?”

“I’m right here,” Martin replies, unheard.

Jon grows silent, but no less agitated. Martin holds on to his arm, but the contact does nothing to calm Jon, nor does it make him notice him. Martin feels like a ghost.

“I’m here, Jon.” Martin breaks down crying. “Look at me! I’m right here! I’m right here.”

And then his cries once more become the only sound in the world.

* * *

Martin reappears at Jon’s side, repeating the phrase: “I’m right here,” again and again between sobs.

“Martin.” Jon almost doesn't have the breath to say it.

Within a second, Jon has Martin in his arms.

“Martin, can you hear me?”

Jon gives him a squeeze in an attempt to get his attention. Martin is as unresponsive as before.

“Oh.”

_ At least Martin isn’t gone. _

Jon thinks he gets it now.

After all, what is lonelier than being unable to connect with each other?

But that won't keep them here. It can't. He has to find a way.

He shuts his eyes and lets the loneliness in.

It’s like deliberately losing your breath. Like going under in cold water. But Jon fights his instincts and sticks to his fledgling plan. And when his arms feel empty he keeps his worry down.

He knows Martin is still there.

* * *

Suddenly Jon is hugging him. The proximity shocks Martin speechless. It does not quite feel like a proper hug, more like the afterimage of one. Jon’s arms are already losing their grip on him, so Martin hurries to sling his own arms around Jon’s torso and hold him close.

Jon speaks: “Martin. I can't see or hear you right now, but I hope… I think you can hear me. I think the Lonely is keeping us from sensing each other at the same time.”

His tone is so rational, it’s endearing. Martin has to hide a smile in Jon’s shoulder. Not that anyone would see it. Maybe he’s just indulging in the closeness, one sided as it may be. Then again, Jon had initiated this. Martin shouldn't read too much into that, though.

“That’s gonna make this a little difficult,” Jon elaborates, sounding determined, “Martin, I want to bring you home with me.”

Now Martin is definitely glad for the invisibility. He can practically feel the blush rising in his face at that choice of words.

_ Oh tender heart, stop hoping. _

Not that Jon had ever had any mercy for his tender heart. Always finding him. Saying impossible things. Doing impossible things. Even after all these months of isolation, Martin loves him so very much.

“I can find a way out of here,” Jon continues. Martin thinks he can hear a hint of doubt in his voice. He can't exactly call him out on it right now.

“But I’m going to need you to follow me. I need you to keep sight of me. I… I think we can make it.”

Martin would follow him to the end of the world right now. He had walked into certain doom for him not too long ago. Following him into uncertain safety should be easy compared to that.

Taking a step back, Martin grabs one of Jon’s hands and holds it tight. He won’t let go.

The air around them seems to grow thicker. Martin closes his eyes and tries to manipulate the Lonely for long enough to signal Jon that he’s ready. 

“Alright. Show the way.”

  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Title from Wait for me (Hadestown)  
Look, Listen, I'm not the only one going feral over this comparison.
> 
> Anyway I wanted to get my own take on the Lonely out before the next episode drops. Unfortunately I am a slow writer (and very out of practice) so that meant I had to split it somewhere. This is a two parter. The hardest road is yet to come...
> 
> In the meantime, try calculating how much of the dialogue is just calling each other's name ;P


End file.
